A Mottled Grey
by Erika Jane
Summary: Lily, a half-blood witch, never loved James. Over two years after her kidnapping, her lover returns to free her from the Order in an event that seemingly ends with the deaths of Lily, baby Harry and a certain Dark Wizard. But 15 years later no-one's noticed the little trickling changes, which together make a waterfall. Pretty much Grey!Everyone, character bashing. Not slash.
1. Prologue - A Bad Day for the Light

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Nor will I ever. I'd like to, but that's a pipe dream - Harry Potter and everything you recognise (and in some cases a little more, I've used stuff from places like Pottermore too) is J.K. Rowling's. "Maisie Shaw" is mine. She will also be dead by the end of this as I dislike OCs. This disclaimer is for this entire fic, so this will be the last time you see this in AMG (unless you re-read this prologue...).

Summary: Lily, a half-blood witch, never loved James, the prophesy never existed and "Harry" is not the BWL. Over two years after her kidnapping, her lover returns to free her from the Order in an event that seemingly ends with the deaths of Lily, baby Harry and a certain Dark Wizard. But all three survived, and when the wizarding world crumbles at their feet, no-one will be prepared...and does anyone really care? Pretty much Grey!Everyone, character bashing, lots of pairings.

Prologue

A Bad Day for the Light.

Albus Dumbledore shifted in his seat at the front of the Great Hall. Last year's sorting had been...interesting. It had been far too unpredictable, with far too many surprises. He hated surprises; they tended to run contrary to his plans. Who would have guessed that a second Weasley would be sorted into Slytherin last year? Who would have thought that Gregory Goyle, a boy who'd entered with a Malfoy, would end up in Hufflepuff? And certainly, while the Zabini family had not declared themselves on either side, Dumbledore had not expected the boy to end up in Gryffindor.

He let his gaze wander over to the Slytherin table, where he frowned at one particular boy. Dumbledore had never heard of Colby Shaw before last year's sorting, and he usually had a good idea of who everyone was before they started – the purebloods and the half-bloods were well known of course, but he liked to keep track of the muggleborns too in case of any...incidents – but Colby? Nothing. And now there was a sister! A sister to be sorted this year too.

Sorting had once been a lovely event, full of a comforting predictability, but it had been a mess for the last few years – last year's more than any. He turned his attention to the new students, just in time to catch Minerva McGonagall call the next student up. He'd apparently missed a couple in his musing however.

"Carrow, Flora," McGonagall called. Dumbledore relaxed, definitely predictable and definitely a Slytherin. He was proven correct a few moments later, and the blonde girl went to join her house.

Her twin joined her. Colin Creevey was sorted into Gryffindor and Felicity Eastchurch went over to the Ravenclaw table. Nothing surprising as of yet. Dumbledore started to relax as the sorting went on, back in the rigid predictability he had been accustomed to in earlier years. On and on it went. And then he found his attention called back.

"Shaw, Maisie," the Deputy head called, and a redheaded girl nervously walked over to the hat and sat down. A few seconds later she stood and left to join her brother in Slytherin. Dumbledore wondered if she'd be like her brother – an unnervingly brilliant student. The worst kind of feeling crawled up his spine. He didn't like unpredictable factors. Colby Shaw was unpredictable – Dumbledore had no idea as to his allegience, and the boy always managed to slip by when Dumbledore was about to approach. And he had no idea as to whether it was intentional or not. His sister... if she was anything like him then Dumbledore could either have a dream duo for defeating You-Know-Who or a terrible pair aligned to the dark. Dumbledore hoped for the former, but feared it would be the latter. They were, after all, Slytherins.

But Voldemort had been quiet in recent years. After the murder of Lily Potter and her son, and the destruction of Godric's Hollow, the raids and attacks had almost ground to a halt. It was, Dumbledore reasoned, most probably all down to Lily. After all, her death had been of no loss to the light except at the expense of James' happiness. James had only wanted the best for Lily, who had hated him with a passion in return. Some would call it irony that she was killed by her own side in the end, but she'd been forced into a relationship with James and Voldemort...well, was a very jealous man.

Of course, that wasn't his only worry by far. The light was perhaps on the verge of losing one of its most steadfast families.

"Weasley, Ginevra." Dumbledore resisted the urge to lean forward in his seat. With two Gryffindor Weasleys and two Slytherin Weasleys currently in the school it could be awful for another Slytherin. The Weasleys were and always had been a light-aligned family. Dumbledore couldn't afford that to change. But he was powerless to decide anything. He couldn't bewitch the hat – he'd done enough research to know it would be a public nightmare to attempt it, and his private attempt had backed this up (it was times like these Dumbledore was glad for the privacy charms around his office) – and he had no way of persuading it. He just had to let it happen. Dumbledore also hated being powerless.

He watched the girl, hoping...

"SLYTHERIN!" Dumbledore squeezed his eyes shut, making an attempt not to let his hopelessness show outwardly. This truly was a bad day for the light.

A/N: First off, hello! As a first time fanfic writer I'd like to thank you for taking a look at this. You rock!

Yes, I had fun mixing a few people around Houses. No, these aren't all of the changes, you'll have to wait for the rest. After all, this is in Dumbledore's perspective – sorta – and he'd only think about the truly odd changes ;)

And who are these Shaws hmm...? And what's with my version of Lily!? This is, of course, my attempt to get you to follow this fic so you can find out :P


	2. 1 - Guess Who

**A/N:** I am currently editing AMG (I'm annoyed at how choppy this chapter in particular is). This is not the last edit of this chapter, as everything from James' perspective onwards is going into another chapter. I just haven't written that one yet. Thankies,  
Erika.

Chapter 1

Guess Who

_3 years later_

The first day back of Colby's fifth year. The Great Hall was more packed that morning than it would be at any other point that term, as students were given their timetables. He was bored, the start of his OWLs year not meaning much to him, as he was confident he could have taken the NEWTs at this stage without a problem. His father had suggested training with Snape to look at getting a potions mastery, but he has declined. Potions was more his sister's thing - his main interests were spell creation, martial magic and dark arts. None of which Hogwarts taught, to his chagrin - even the restricted section of the library was disappointing.

He sighed, disregarding his timetable as he picked at a muffin. Only two years and he could be out of here. That said, some of the company was good. On the other hand, most of it was terrible.

"Well isn't that fantastic, double Defence with Potter and the Gryffindors first thing on a Monday," Draco drawled from beside him, looking up from his timetable. "This is why we get tutoring during the summer. I don't know why they still call it defence."

"Well I bet they'd never get away with a class called "Target Practice on Slytherins"," Ron said around a piece of toast and a few chunks of sausage. Draco grimaced.

"You know that you could at least finish your mouthful before you speak. Or perhaps shove less in – the food isn't going anywhere." Draco said. "But no, they wouldn't. I sure that the insane man justifies it as believing if we die then there's fewer death eaters so the Gryffindors are defended, and on our side we're literally having to learn to defend ourselves every lesson."

"If you think about it, we _are _getting more out of it," Colby said, speaking up and trying to sound positive despite the urge to curse the DADA teacher. The urge wasn't due to the class, but due to the man himself – he'd hated James Potter even before he'd first seen him. "We're learning defence and they're just learning static target practice. The kind of target practice we got on those practice dummies when we were four, Dray." Draco grumbled, focusing back on his timetable while Colby nodded at Neville as he noticed...whom he guessed he could consider his best friend - if people like him had friends - enter the hall.

He looked back to his own bench, amused, as his sister collapsed next to Theodore Nott. "Nice to see you're ready for the day, sis."

Maisie looked up and glared. "You know how it goes. Old Dumbles is staring again by the way. Oh, and that Zabini guy you wanted me to look at? Lost cause, Cole. He's fallen for a mudblood in Ravenclaw."

"When is he _not_ staring? And really? Damn, I thought Zabini had potential, the stupid blood traitor." Maisie snorted and slumped back down on the table, not responding to anything else except to give a slight nod as Snape put her timetable on the table. Draco immediately grabbed it.

"Can we swap timetables for the morning? You have potions with the Ravenclaws," Draco said.

"Lovely, potions with Loony Lovegood," Ginny sang sarcastically, sitting down next to Draco and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Sounds like fun," Draco said, passing back Maisie's timetable.

"It is, so long as you're not paired with her. Her mum might have been good with potions, but her? No way," Ginny said. She turned towards Maisie. "Maisie..."

Maisie grinned. "What, Ginevra? Hmm... no I wont give you something extra to put in your summer potions essay. Though trust me, I sympathise - I know it's hard for you to get hold of proper reading material at your house," she said, before raising an eyebrow. "Though I also know that Draco _does_ keep inviting you over."

Ginny blushed, holding in a small giggle, before her face fell. "You know my parents will never let me go," she said bitterly.

"Then lie," Maisie said with a shrug.

"Our parents know we're in Slytherin and don't think we know anyone outside it. Even though we do have friends in other houses, our parents wont let us go out. They don't trust us. George gets to go out in the summer, that's it," Ron grumbled, luckily without the sideshow of a mouthful of ground up food this time.

"Anyway, I don't need anything for my essay, your birthday present was very useful thank-you. I was going to ask if you'd pair up with me this year..." Ginny said.

"So ask." Ginny rolled her eyes and complied.

"Maisie, will you pair up with me for potions this year?" she asked.

"Hmm..." Maisie mused with a smirk. Ginny raised an eyebrow

"You know the Carrow twins will pair up, and Acantha turned her back and ran off to go live with the Longbottoms over the summer. She's been attached to Longbottom since and is practically a social pariah in Slytherin this year. Do you really want to pair up with her again?" Maisie shuddered. Ginny glanced down the table in pity at Theodore, who was scowling at the thought of his disowned sister.

"Okay okay, I'll pair up with you, just pass me a bagel," Maisie said with a scowl.

* * *

Later on that night in a small village in the South-East of England, a woman was sat, curled up on a loveseat upholstered in a dark green velvet with a letter in her hand. A man sat at a nearby desk, looking through papers and occassionally making notes with his quill. It would have been a normal scene in a normal wizarding home. Except the house was more of a manor and the man at the table had the most interesting scarlet irises. The woman scowled at the parchment in her hand.

"Tom, would you please do something about that nutter?" the woman asked, looking up from the letter in her hand. To those who didn't know her the tone might've sounded indifferent, as it might have to those who used to know her - it was a trait she'd cultivated during her years in hiding. But he husband knew differently, picking up on the rage and hints of fear. "He's at it again."

"Which one?" he asked, not glancing up from the raid plans for next week. It could have been a long list of people: Dumbledore, Moody, Augusta Longbottom, Peter Pettigrew...

"Potter," she spat. Or him - after all she did have a good reason to hate the man more than most. Perhaps more than anyone. "He's now decided it would be fun to practice swordsmanship on our son."

Voldemort's head shot up. "He's doing _what_!?" he snarled. Using his son as a spell target had been bad enough, but at least Blake had always been able to defend himself with his own wand. Being attacked with a sword was different - he didn't even know if Blake was allowed his own sword, without which...

He stood, leaving the plans abandoned on the mahogany desk to sit next to his wife on the love-seat. He slid his arms around her and squeezed softly. "He'll be gone soon, I promise. But you know the old man will fight to keep him and it'll take a while. I'll see what I can do to get an "independent" supervisor into the class in the meantime, which should stop the use of Slytherins as target dummies at least."

The woman nodded, leaning into the hug and feeling the tense feeling somewhat leak away. He planted a soft kiss on her head before he drew back, looking at her again. "No-one uses our kids like that and gets away with it."

* * *

"Brother, you have the subtlety of a troll," Maisie complained, pacing the Slytherin common room that night to the amusement of the few there, who always loved the sight of the slight redhead ranting at her taller, well-built brother. "This prank of yours will never work."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, May," Fred chirped in from behind her with a grin. "It's not his prank, it's a Weasley prank. Which means there's no way it's go wrong."

Maisie turned, folding her arms in a move that would have made most people step back. The Slytherin Princess was known for her awful temper. "You're good, Weasley, but not _that_ good. And why are you involving my brother in this?"

"Because, little sister, the spell they needed didn't actually exist," Colby said, bored, from the armchair he was lounged in, seemingly not taking an eye off of the textbook he looked to be reading. Seemingly reading, because the book was only full of stuff he'd covered with his father years ago. He scoffed every year when he saw the book-list. He also wasn't paying any real attention to Fred and Maisie's argument. Maisie yelled at everything and it was just old. He mentally asked again why his sister was so stuck up, whining about stupid things when his lovely ex-"adoptive" father kept trying to kill them in the middle of a class.

Maisie whirled around to look at him and Fred sighed in relief behind her, glad that the attention had been taken off of him, even if he wasn't as affected by it as the majority of the Snake Pit.

"So Fred and Gin got you to make the spell? Oh dear, now my estimation of this prank has reached new lows," his sister replied, tapping a foot on the stone floor. Colby silently scoffed and faked a hurt look.

"But this is my forte," he protested, ending with a smirk. Maisie sighed. She had to admit that it was. Almost whatever you needed he could do. It was a fantastic gift but...

"Why don't you ever use it for anything important?" Maisie asked. Colby laughed at Fred's glare. Woe betide anyone who ever call Fred's pranks unimportant. Though he mostly used them to wind down when he was bored - with his twin brother in another house, Fred was better at actually studying, and though still a major focus of his, the pranks were secondary. The same could not be said of his twin however.

"My dear sister, don't you realise? This is important. How could a silent, wandless and best of all _untraceable_ spell that alters people's appearances so they have green hair, silver eyes and pointy ears be unimportant? Especially when you pair it with the interesting things Fred managed to coerce the house elves into putting into a few breakfast items tomorrow," Colby asked with a smile. "Plus, now it's just a little tweak to get it to spell other colours too. Hmm... I'm thinking you'd love blue hair and yellow eyes. What do you think Fred?"

"I think that sounds brilliant, Cole-y," Fred said with another grin. Maisie glared at Colby, who shut his book and left it on the arm of the chair with a raised eyebrow at his sister, emerald eyes sparkling in mirth.

"Don't you dare, Bla-" her eyes widened and her hands flew to her mouth. "Colby Shaw". Colby's laugh was strained, and he stood up to walk over to his sister. The common room had gone silent. Shocked stares from a few at what she'd almost said were mingled amongst confused looks from those not in the know. The smile had been wiped off of his face to be replaced with a cold, hard, almost expressionless face as he grabbed her arm tightly and put his face down to her ear.

"Well, _Tanith_, it's a good job that I'm not Colby Shaw then, isn't it?" Colby whispered, before letting go and smirking as the nervous giggling started to sound around the common room. "Nice hair."

Her head darted up, catching the mirror. "Argh! You..." she screamed, livid.

"Don't blame me, Lazy-Hazy-Maisie, it's my Godfather who's the bad influence," laughing as she stormed out of the room.

"Umm... mate, is there an counter-spell for that?" Ron asked quietly from near the fireplace. The corners of Colby's lips twitched up in an almost-smile.

"Not yet, I'll fix it when I can be bothered." He wasn't in a hurry though. He also wasn't planning to tell her to stay away from the bagels tomorrow.

* * *

_Those damned kids._ James thought as he looked at the Shaws over on the Slytherin table. They looked so familiar, especially the girl. But he couldn't figure out where from. It had bothered him from the day Colby Shaw had entered the Great Hall for the first time five years earlier. James looked back over at the Gryffindor table. It didn't matter, he'd even gone through their files and there was nothing to connect them to anyone he knew. It was just a coincidence, and he had his own son to worry about. _After the last one..._

James frowned. He couldn't think about that, not now. His first son may have been murdered but his second was alive and well and here. The mother might not have been Lily, but despite his best efforts he knew that Lily had never loved him. How could she? They'd kidnapped her, and as much as James had cared for her he knew it was still imprisonment. And she could never have been happy with that. Ellen Potter didn't love him either and he didn't love her either. It was, as callous as it sounded, a match founded on a necessity to keep the Potter bloodline going and a mutual respect. They liked each other well enough, but love had never been a part of it.

He did love his sons though - both the one by blood and the one by adoption - and Ellen loved them too. Andrew Potter, a second year Gryffindor, and Neville Longbottom. The second years were the only ones who he didn't teach his normal defence class to. He didn't want his son to see the ugliness he could commit. Not even he knew why he did it, but the need just burned. A retribution he had neither deserved to give out nor the right to give out, but it almost seemed like justice. Not for Lily - as while he didn't know exactly who she'd loved he knew it was a Slytherin and that made it more of a disgrace to her memory - but for his own bruised ego. He'd have been a fool to say that his treatment of Lily then and the Slytherins now were his only regrets. No, he had many of those, especially the disappointment which shot through him every time he caught Neville with Shaw. The two of them tried to hide their little meetings - after all, a Hufflepuff and a Slytherin never went together - but the Marauder's Map showed a lot.

He picked up his mug and took another gulp as tea, just as the yelps started in the hall. He looked up, to see a sea of green hair in front of him. A quick glance around told him that even the teachers were affected. And they had the most interesting silver eyes. James sighed. At least no-one was hurt, though he'd find out who it was and when he did they would find themselves in detention. He hadn't quite decided how long for though. It was weirdly fun, plotting ways to ruin Slytherins days, and he loved it. As it surely was a Slytherin, now he just needed evidence.

* * *

Ginny smirked at Fred, who winked back. Colby just leant back and enjoyed the pandemonium. He knew it would cause some sort of fuss, but the sheer degree of chaos that had ensued was fantastic. Who would've thought that girls could whine that much about hair? He would send an owl to Padfoot that night, who Colby reckoned might be somewhat entertained by it. Whoever said that the Dark Lord's children couldn't have fun was an idiot. Though, it was perhaps unexpected that the son of Tom and Lily Riddle would be quite so interested in creating such menial inconveniences.

* * *

AN: So, who's the mudblood? Who's the "independent supervisor"? And if Voldemort's been alive for fifteen years, what on earth has he been doing the whole time?

And is this all rather obvious? Probably :P


	3. 2 - Aldebaran

AN: Thank-you to everyone who viewed and reviewed this, favourited it, or put it on their alerts. It means a lot – mostly that I'm not _completely_ insane and that someone else likes this :P. This is a little later than I said, but better late than never? It's very...Lily-centric if you like that. I thought that I definitely had a few things to clear up (I'm not entirely sure I succeeded however...).

Chapter 2

Aldebaran

_Lily, come back. You don't belong with him," he said - in a tone she was alarmed to note was almost pleading - from where he was standing over Harry's cot, not even glancing at her. He shouldn't look at her. He wouldn't. If only because he couldn't control himself around her._

_"I can't. I can't come back to you, no matter how much I want to. I'm bound. He's..." she stopped to grimace, her large emerald eyes almost tearing up as the despair rose up in her again "my husband, even if I wish he wasn't. And they'd only come back for Harry and me." She looked at him pleadingly, hoping he would understand. Hoping he knew that it wasn't her choice and that being forced to stay around these people, on this side of the war, was killing her._

_"You were made to marry him. Yes they made it binding, but it's breakable even if it's hard. Please Lily, come with me and bring Harry; I should think I can protect the woman I love and my son." He leant down and picked Harry up, cradling him in his arms. Yes, despite being robbed of a year he could love and protect their son - how could she think he wouldn't? When the boy opened his eyes -so much like Lily's - the man melted, knowing that he wouldn't ever be able to deny his son anything, even if it was to the detriment of the cause. He looked at her, his beautiful flower left to wilt by the scum who had taken her away from him, as her face lit up at his words. Please, Lily, please._

_Lily felt hope rise inside her for the first time in over two years. She could go back to him, back to the man she loved. No-one was here to stop her. She looked over at her son, who was smiling up at the stranger holding him in his arms, and felt at peace. This was right, she needed this and so did their son - he would not grow up in a loveless home. She walked towards the man, brushing a feather-light kiss across him cheek._

_"Yes, Tom. Yes."_

* * *

She hated it, she always did. Even with her daughter in her fourth year and her son in his fifth – both over halfway through their damned compulsory attendance at that place – she worried. Surely it was only a matter of time before someone noticed. Before someone noticed that Blake looked exactly like his father – Tom, not that... not Potter - except for his eyes, which were exactly like hers. Tanith was more of a mix, but if they noticed Blake then they'd suspect about Tanith too. And she did inherit Lily's distinctive red hair...

No. She had to stop or it would drive her mad. Lily slumped back in the chair. Sev was at Hogwarts keeping an eye on them and they both had two-way mirrors connected with ones in the Riddle Manor which they used regularly to talk. And Lucius was at the ministry right now trying to coerce the Minister into putting someone to inspect the education at Hogwarts – meaning that Potter's constant bullying of the Slytherins would hopefully stop. There was absolutely nothing to worry about, so long as Blake and Tanith kept away from Dumbledore and never ever looked him in the eyes. But what if...

The glass door slid open as Tom entered the sun lounge and she was amused to see that his usually perfect black hair looked a little dishevelled. It didn't always after a raid. He sat next to her and leant over to rub her shoulders, slipping his hands under the neck of her robe to do so.

"You're worrying again. Stop worrying, it will be fine," he said softly. It was a tone not many ever got to hear. He definitely wouldn't have used it if there were any Death Eaters around who weren't Lucius or Severus.

"I can't help it, not while Dumbledore is running Hogwarts," Lily said. "How long? How long until we end this all?"

"Not long, love. Lucius managed more than I expected, and the inspector has been given the title of High Inquisitor following some worrying reports that Lucius gave," Tom said, stopping his rubbing of her shoulders to play with her hair. "The new "High Inquisitor" is also one of ours. She'll be able to oust Potter, and if we're lucky we'll be able to get him into Azkaban into wilful neglect and endangerment of children. She'll take the DADA spot and act completely inept, allowing Blake the reason and opportunity to set up a small...defence club. They'll help us take down the wards and we'll go in. If all goes to plan then I'll have Dumbledore's head on a platter in time for our anniversary."

Lily smiled wryly.

"How romantic, Tom," she said, causing him to flash a grin back at her which only made her laugh. "Blake will be okay though, right?"

"Lily, we're coming to the end now. As much as I want to I can't guarantee his safety. But I'll make sure he's as safe as he can be," he replied. She nodded, twisting around to cuddle up to him. She lifted her head, lightly kissing his lips.

"Everything will be okay."

* * *

_Lily walked down the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley, lost in her thoughts. He'd proposed to her the night before, a decadent candlelit dinner and beautiful midnight stroll across the vast grounds of his manor in an act she would never have expected from him. He just kept surprising her. The diamond in her engagement ring glittered on her finger, and the wedding was to take place a month later, with the proper bonding rituals as well. And she still hadn't told him yet._

_She hadn't told him she was pregnant. She smiled softly; he'd be overjoyed, she was sure._

_She just had one more stop to make: Severus needed some potions ingredients for a new experimental potion he was attempting, and his constant grumbling was annoying Sirius who had complained to her about it. Everyone had been shocked when Sirius returned to Grimauld Place after two years with James Potter and his family, and pledged allegiance to Voldemort, stating that his family was what was most important to him. It was fortunate – Bellatrix had taken Sirius' desertion hard and Cissy had been most worried about her sister's sanity._

_Lost in her thought's she bumped into someone. She looked up, about to apologise, when the words died on her lips. James Potter was standing in front of her. A chill ran up her spine and she quickly backed up, not entirely sure why there was a foreboding feeling settling in her spine at the sight of the bespectacled brunette man. He took his wand, and pointed it at her with a sad smile but hesitated from doing anything. Until..._

"_James," hissed a voice, a voice she vaguely recognised... Dumbledore. "Just do it, do it and she'll be yours. And it'll give us all a little more time to fight the Dark while they look for her." His wand shook and he looked at her with almost pained eyes before muttering a spell._

"_Imperio."_

* * *

Tom sighed and lifted himself up slightly from where he had been happily wrapped up on the seat with Lily, brushing his hand against her side once more as he did and eliciting another small giggle from her – she'd always been ridiculously ticklish and Tom enjoyed using that.

"Lucius, Narcissa and Sirius are here," he said, having felt the slight interruption in the wards as they allowed the trio through. Lily frowned. She could've happily stayed in Tom's arms for much longer, but at least they had the night to themselves after they left.

"No Bella tonight?" she asked, honestly disappointed. She enjoyed Bellatrix's company and her zany, if somewhat morbid, humour. Tom shrugged, standing up and offering Lily a hand up which she didn't need but took anyway.

"She's not with them. I don't know where she is, but I'm not her keeper," he shot her a cheeky smile. "I have enough trouble keeping up with you."

"But I'm usually home unless I'm out with Cissy or Bella..." Lily protested. Tom pulled her close and kissed her again, slipping his tongue past her lips to tease her own before pulling away and offering her his arm.

"And still I have trouble finding you sometimes," he said. "We'd better go and greet our guests, they'll be coming up the path any time now." Lily took his arm and walked with him to the entrance hall, determined to forget her worries for the night.

* * *

AN: So, as I said, I attempted to clear things up. Next chapter will be back at Hogwarts, but expect to see a lot of Tom and Lily (aww... I think the pairing is cute). And I promise he wont always be this nice ;). I have no idea when the next chapter will be here. As soon as I can, I promise! (I'm making a lot of promises here...). And as always, thank-you for reading! :D


	4. 3 - What It Isn't

**AN:** Meant to have this done earlier, but last week was just so hectic! As always, thank-you to everyone who viewed and reviewed/alerted/favourited last chapter - you're awesome. Yes, you.  
And ah, oh dear I hate writing old Dumbles...

Chapter 3  
What It Isn't

Colby stared in distaste at the frog-like woman swathed in pink who was currently sitting at the head table. He knew perfectly well why she was here, but wondered again why his father was doing it. Colby had been looking forward to his sweet revenge, and the fact it was being taken away left a bitter taste. Not that he'd said anything of course, his father had his reasons for everything.

He frowned and turned his gaze to his sister, who returned his stare with a scowl. This did nothing to stop Colby smirking as he noticed that her hair still had streaks of blue running through the burning red and her eyes – while definitely not the custard-colour they had been – still had a yellow-y tint to them. Maisie took the opportunity to raise an eyebrow and nod back to the head table, souring Colby's mood once more.

He went back to moodily shuffling food around his plate as, at the head table, Dumbledore stood and tapped his goblet. The hubbub of conversations that Colby had been ignoring died down as everyone looked to the front of the Great Hall.

"I would like to introduce High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge, who is here to assess the school for the Ministry. She will be sitting in on quite a few of your lessons, and I must request that you treat her with the same respect you would any professor here at Hogwarts. Professor Potter has also asked me to announce that-"

"Hem, hem." Dumbledore stopped as Umbridge stood, clearing her throat in a manner of false politeness. A quick glance over at the Gryffindor table showed aghast expressions at the way the woman would dare interrupt the Headmaster. Colby snickered and Umbridge slowly approached the front with a sugary smile on her face.

"Thank you, headmaster, for those kind words of welcome, and how nice it is to see so many of your bright, _happy,_ faces smiling up at me. The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of a vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something... _new_ to this historic school, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected and prune practices that ought to be... prohibited!" She giggled and returned to her seat, seemingly oblivious to the blank faces she was getting from most of the student body.

Dumbledore stood once more and seemed to hesitate just slightly as he thought about her words. Colby might've even said he looked troubled.

"Thank you Dolores. That really was most illuminating. I would also like to announce that Professor Potter is graciously offering up his room and expertise outside of lessons to any fifth or seventh years who need an area in which to study for this year's exams. This would also serve as an ideal opportunity to encourage this year's theme of inter-house relations, so I would expect to see members of every house-" here his gaze flickered to the Slytherins "availing themselves of the space." Dumbledore sat down and conversation across the hall resumed.

"'Inter-house relations?' When did the old bat mention that? I thought he was actively trying to keep Slytherin away from the rest of the school..." Ron muttered. The rest of the fifth year Slytherins looked at him incredulously. "What?"

"Weasel, the first time he mentioned it was just now. Wants to put on a good show for the Ministry I suspect," Draco said.

"Hey, maybe Trelawny and Binns will finally be fired this year," Fred piped up from down the table.

"Maybe, but I'm gunning for Potter," Colby said.

"You're always gunning for Potter, brother. One might think you're obsessed with him," Maisie said, rolling her eyes. "Got daddy issues or something?"

"Daddy issues? Maisie, I know I've said it before, but you're weird," Ron said. "I wouldn't mind seeing him gone myself – preferably before Professor Snape gets bored of making blood replenishing potion."

"You know, Weasel, if you actually bothered to dodge you might get hit less by swinging swords. Just a tip," Draco said.

* * *

Colby tossed in his sleep, reliving the same dream that had been haunting him for weeks now. It had started sometime around his fifteenth birthday, and while some might see that as prophetic he didn't; there had been no history of anyone with prophetic talent in his family, yet with a family like his it was conceivable enough that someone was giving him the dreams for some reason. And when people gave people like him dreams, it was never for a particularly... benevolent reason.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who will thrice defy him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..." His vision cleared as the voice finished speaking, and as always, he looked around for the speaker, finding no-one._

_He was in a room, a musty room with squeaky floorboards and peeling paint. Colby could recognise it, but had no idea where he was. The thud of footsteps and the creaking of the stairs alerted him to someone else's – no, other people's – presence. He dove into one of the cupboards and covered himself with a few blankets as a precaution before casting a quick, wandless, disillusionment charm. He door opened as a few people entered._

"_I don't understand, Albus. No-one was born at the end of July 1980," James Potter said. "No-one except Harry, and he's dead. He's dead because you lied to me about keeping him and Lily safe!"_

"_James, I ordered the aurors to leave because they had no chance. Had they not left then the body count would've been far higher. And as I have told you, many times before, Harry was not your son," Dumbledore replied._

"_How do you know? He could've been. And I certainly would have loved him like a father would love a son either way. Because I loved her."_

_People. Blood. Explosions of colour as hex hit charm and curse hit counter-curse. Colby's head whipped around frantically, not knowing what to do. _

_Suddenly he found himself face to face with a dark-haired boy who he always knew in his nightmares but could never remember in the daytime. A boy who had a wand pointed squarely at him. Colby didn't know why after all these weeks he still felt shocked._

"_I saved your life. I saved your life and you want to kill me?" Colby asked._

"_At what expense? My whole family is gone, Colby, and you're the one who did it. I followed you because I believed you. I believed in you. But now I can see that your side isn't any better. Maybe you're right, maybe if you succeed then things will be better, but who's still going to be alive to see it? I'm sorry, friend." The boy winced and bit his lip, hesitating. Colby could have moved, could have cast his own spell, could have done something. But he didn't._

"_Avada Ke-"_

* * *

Colby bolted up. Again. Why? He glanced at the clock, groaning when he saw it was only 2am. He hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in weeks. Perhaps it was time to ask for some Dreamless Sleep potion. It wasn't a long-term solution, but it would do for now. He'd ask Madam Pomphrey later – not Sev, as Sev would only tell Colby's father. And he didn't want his dad to know. His dad would understand, but Colby loathed showing weakness. Possibly more than he hated his so-called "sister".

The day went by as normal, Colby using the Pepper-up potion Madam Pomphrey had given him to get through the day. At least he'd be able to sleep that night. Of course, the one thing he was curious about was "Defence". He knew that Umbridge was sitting in, so how would Potter run his class now?

He walked in, slightly early for once, and took his usual seat near the back, nodding at Umbridge as he did. Umbridge in turn didn't react, not wanting to attract unwanted attention if Potter came in while she was paying the proper respect to her Master's son.

It was a good thing too, as a crowd of Gryffindors entered at that moment – Zabini and MacMillan with the Patil twins and a loud Lavender Brown sandwiched between Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan. Colby grimaced as the classroom which had been quiet mere seconds ago erupted into a sea of idle chatter.

His head hit the desk and he willed the hour of torture to be over already.

* * *

**AN:** Keeping with my little mental format, next chapter is very James-centric. But hmm... who's going to kill Colby? Why does the prophecy still exist (if in a slightly different form)? And who, exactly, is Maisie Shaw/Tanith Riddle?


	5. 4 - A Good Offence

**AN: **Hello again! Here's a very sort-of-bitter!James-centric chapter for you. I reveal some more about whose in certain houses and some other interesting...stuff. At least I hope it's interesting :P. BIG thanks to Nameless Secret Keeper, who has reviewed every chapter, you're awesome :)

Chapter 4

A Good Offence

James Potter walked briskly into the defence classroom. It was an uptight sort of walk, unlike his usual lazy strut, and he tried not to scowl as he passed the... _woman_ lurking in the back of his class. He'd take an entire class of Slytherins right now if it meant she'd be gone. That said, not _all_ of the Slytherins were that bad. Malfoy, Parkinson and Nott were the snide, stuck-up, Death Eater-spawn purebloods you'd expect, but then there were the Slytherins like Greengrass and that Shaw boy. He respected Greengrass, Shaw...not so much.

Shaw, if that even was his name – and James had his doubts as the boy seemed familiar from somewhere – had despised him from the first instant. James would put it down to the usual Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry, but the Death Eater scum deferred to him far too much for the boy to be someone as insignificant as he seemed. The only things that stood out about him were his intelligence and how he appeared to be a pureblood from a family no-one had heard of before.

James had his own suspicions about who exactly the boy was – especially with those eyes, which were so much like Lily's...so much like Harry's – but he wouldn't move until he was sure. And he had a class to teach.

"Books out, page 263 – we're starting to cover the patronus charm today," he said. It was a spell he'd already covered a little with his Gryffindors in the – petty as it was – secret out-of-class study sessions he'd been giving them, and he doubted many if any of the Slytherins would be able to perform it. Not with the way he'd been treating them for five years. An excellent spell to show a fair teaching style and the "ineptitude" of the Slytherins. "Got something to share, boys?"

"Not at all, _sir_," Colby spat. "I was just confused. After all, Draco and I are pretty sure that only last lesson we were halfway though _duelling_ technique. I was surprised you'd suddenly switch topics. Worried about something?" James grit his teeth. For all of the times for the boy to speak up in his class. Umbridge's eyes were glittering in interest – no, more like a gleam. The gleam of a predator circling prey. Fantastic. Luckily...

"With the recent defection of the dementors from the Ministry, it was agreed upon – by the school board, the Headmaster, the other heads of House, and myself – that it would be prudent to teach the patronus to all years we felt could handle it immediately," James said. That had of course been another reason for his choice of this _particular_ spell. He turned his attention to the general class. "Any other queries?"

He saw Malfoy open his mouth and was almost relieved when Shaw quickly shook his head at him, causing Malfoy to shut it again.

* * *

15 minutes later, with the basic theory covered and an essay set for the next lesson on a more in-depth coverage, James allowed them to attempt the spell. He was happy to see most of his Gryffindors immediately cast the spell – Finnigan's fox, MacMillan's boar, and the non-corporeal forms of Lavender Brown's, the Patil twins' and Zabini's patronus. And the Slytherins? Of course there was...

James paled. He'd looked over at the Slytherins expecting nothing, and he definitely hadn't expected a large dog to manifest from Colby Shaw's wand. Not a medium-sized hound that looked ever so much like the fabled grim from the divination books. Especially not one that looked so much like...

Padfoot?

Just who was Colby Shaw? A boy who came seemingly out of no-where with eyes like Lily's and a patronus like his ex-best friend's animagus form. If he didn't know better he'd assume that that Colby Shaw was Padfoot and Lily's son, but it was incredibly unlikely. They didn't hate him that much, surely? James quickly turned his head away from the Slytherins, missing Colby's smirk, and turning his head back towards the Gryffindors.

"Five points to everyone who managed a non-corporeal patronus, fifteen to everyone who managed a corporeal one. If you managed a corporeal one you may leave early. I'd advise you use this time to start on your essays," James said. Seamus Finnigan and Ernie MacMillan left, and James tried not to wince when he noticed that Shaw hadn't. "Mr Shaw? I believe I said you could leave."

"You said "may". I am exercising my right to stay and help out my dorm mates," Colby replied, plastering a grin on his face. James sighed, and glanced at the woman sitting in the back before glancing back at Colby.

"Five points to Slytherin for aiding a house member," James said wearily. He caught the woman nod out of the corner of his eye and sat back down, mentally counting up the number of points he'd given each house that lesson. 50 to Gryffindor and 30 to Slytherin – Davis and surprisingly Crabbe had managed non-corporeal patronuses. Far too many to Slytherin, but it would have to do. Especially with the hag at the back watching.

By the end of the lesson Padma Patil had managed a panther patronus and Fay Dunbar, Luca Caruso and ,unfortunately, Malfoy and Greengrass, had managed non-corporeal ones. This made the scores 70 to 40. Which was, James was surprised to note, a lot of both sides. Overkill one might say. So long as the crazy cat lady at the back didn't think he was overcompensating for something.

James was relieved when the hour was over and the class went to leave.

He was not relieved to see Colby Shaw in a deep conversation with the Ministry sycophant afterwards.

* * *

"...evidence of this?" Umbridge asked, in her annoying, high-pitched giggly tone. James, on his way out of the classroom after packing up, stopped and listened, annoyed. He could imagine the mirth probably glittering in her eyes right now. Not that he wanted to think about that at all.

"Yes, irrefutable evidence in fact. I even have an admission from someone involved," Shaw replied. "If I might make a suggestion, there are quite a few ways in which we could possibly counter this and stop the spread of this...disease," Colby replied.

"I'm very open to suggestions. This is, as you say, a very serious matter," she replied.

"Shall we take this elsewhere? I don't feel comfortable talking about this when Potter may be lurking on the other side of the door," Colby said. James took the opportunity to leave.

"Why, Mr Shaw. My apologies for overhearing the last part of your conversation, but I'm very sorry if you feel in any way uncomfortable with my presence. Excuse me for saying this, but any suggestions you could make to Madame Umbridge could easily be made to any of the heads of House or our esteemed Headmaster. Madame Umbridge is, I'm sure, a very busy person after all," James said desperately. He had a feeling he knew exactly what they were talking about and he was not about to be fired. Now he just had to work out who the mole was, and where on earth House pride had gone to. Ratting Gryffindor out to a Slytherin? Whatever next?

* * *

He went straight to Dumbledore. As was always his policy. He didn't particularly like the man, but foolishness in his youth meant that he owed quite a few debts to the man. Debts which unfortunately couldn't be solved with money.

"Ah, James my boy! Care for a lemon drop?" Albus asked, standing up in his chair and gesticulating with a hand towards the dish of the damned sweets on his desk.

"Cut the crap, Albus," James growled, throwing himself into a chair. "I do believe you owe me an apology actually. I believe that Umbridge is indeed here for someone other than the Ministry, though of course this all comes back to who exactly that boy and his prissy sister are."

"They've been meeting?" Albus asked, leaning forward, the showy so-called "grandfatherly sparkling eyes" gone for colder, harder ones.

"Right outside my classroom actually. Though if I'd done the marking I was planning on doing tonight I never would have noticed," James said distractedly.

"Thank Merlin for procrastination then, James," Albus said pointedly. James just shrugged.

"Albus... the boy's patronus... it's _Padfoot_," James said. Albus frowned in confusion.

"Are you sure?" Albus said. James shot him a glare.

"No, I'm not sure that this random boy has a patronus that looks exactly like my ex-best friend's animagus form. I thought I'd tell you for kicks," James replied sarcastically, before yelling: "_Of course I'm damn sure!_" James sighed. "I'm going."

"Where?" Albus asked.

"Not that it's any of your business, but Hogsmeade. I need a drink."

* * *

**AN: **Can anyone tell I was not a happy bunny while writing this? :oops:. Anyway, I love James, and I do have plans for him. Nice plans. And some not-so-nice plans. But plans. But why on earth is Colby's patronus Padfoot? And what on earth is going on generally? (I do have a plot, don't worry!)

As always, you're all awesome for taking a look at this, and I should be back with another chapter next week :D


	6. 5 - Snakes and Dogs

**Updated A/N: **Yes! I promised on my profile the rest of this would be up Friday night and it is! (Sort of... technically it's 2am on Saturday here now, but it's Friday night in some places, like the US, where most of my readership is from ;) ). As before, thank-you to_ Penny is Wise_, _Locked Secret Keeper_ and _Mary Potter_ for the reviews, and to the absolutely amazing number of people who favourited/followed in my last little update. I was shocked and it's much appreciated :D. Now, on with the show *bows*.

Chapter 5

Snakes and Dogs

"...Very advanced magic - probably not even safe to teach of this age as the magical core isn't fully developed yet. Zabini says he's willing to come forward, using the new goals of "inter-house unity" as a front of course," Colby explained in Umbridge's office, stomach churning at the site of all the pink. Preference could only account for so much, and the pink walls, floors, desk, clothing and even tea made overkill an understatement. For all of the woman's claims of being from a respected ancient line she clearly wasn't - decorum and taste didn't appear to be words in her dictionary at all. Umbridge wrinkled her nose.

"Zabini? The one rumoured to be dragging down his purelood bloodline with that mudblood from Ravenclaw?" Umbridge asked, scandalised. Colby smirked, oh how little the so-called officials knew...

"Mudblood, Ms Umbridge?" he asked coolly.

"Yeah, that "Blanger" girl," she said. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "_Granger_" her name was, and she certainly was not a mudblood. Registered as one yes, seemingly raised as one, but "Granger" was really a member of the relatively new Regnar family. Relatively new as in they'd only been around for eight generations or so. Still, with the required 4 magical grandparents, Hermoine was a pureblood.

"I'm afraid I don't know who you're referring to," he replied smoothly. She smirked, and he wanted nothing more at that moment than to just hex her. He hated dealing with people like her, but it was a necessary evil. Or something like that.

"Why I'm surprised, Mr Shaw. I was under the impression you made it your business you know what was going on?" she said in that grating high pitched tone. Colby swore his ears would start bleeding soon.

"The flimsy relationships my peers make are none of my business. They can be fixed," he said. "I doubt it's any of your business either. Zabini will end up with someone appropriate I'm sure. Did you want to see him about the lack of professionalism his Head of House has displayed or not?"

Umbridge scowled, but nodded anyway. "I believe it would be most appropriate, yes", she said, and ended it with her signature faux-giggle. Oh how he was going to enjoy killing her.

"I'll let him know Ms Umbridge, now if our business is concluded...?" he said, trailing off the sentence so as to let her know there was no more to discuss, while not appearing _overly_ rude.

"Of course, Mr Shaw. I hope we can get matters cleared up as soon as possible. Thank-you for the tip-off." If he had been anyone else, he'd have been offended at her wording - making it seem like she was doing him a favour. Still, he wasn't as impetuous as many purebloods, and making allowances for her uneducated manner, he simply raised an eyebrow and nodded before leaving.

A small pang of discomfort settled in Colby's stomach, and he realised he'd missed dinner. Shrugging, he ignored it - he could always sneak down to the kitchens later - and went about meeting up with Neville in their usual place. Quickly heading down two flights of stairs from the second floor to the ground floor he headed to the disused Classroom 11.

"Neville!" he urged, calling out to the boy sitting on one of the desks and beckoning him to follow. Neville did, looking confused.

"Colby? What are w-" He stopped as Colby raised a finger to his lips and headed out the entrance hall to the grounds.

"James knows we've been meeting and where. We need to move." Neville froze.

"I didn't know. I'm sorry, I had no idea that-"

"It's fine, Nev, I just think we should move."

"That was priceless, Colby," Draco said when Colby finally slipped into the dull Slytherin common room later. He frowned.

"What was?" he asked distractedly, mentally remonstrating himself for forgetting to take a look at the Room of Requirement on his way back from seeing Neville and a... somewhat fruitful meeting with Umbridge. His father had mentioned it as a place that might be useful to hold meetings. The Chamber of Secrets would probably be more useful, but getting so many people through an abandoned girls' bathroom without suspicion would be hard enough before even considering that the Chamber was secret for a reason. For more than the basilisk, though she would potentially be a problem for everyone else too.

"Oh come on, we both know your patronus is not Sirius," Draco said, and Colby smirked - half at the memory of Potter's reaction and half at the startled look on Maisie's face. He wasn't sure why she was so startled. Draco and Colby had grown up together, trained together, and were good friends; of course Draco knew what Colby's patronus was (and his animagus for that fact). And if Maisie was surprised he had messed around with his patronus she was dumber than he'd thought.

"That. Yes, that was quite funny. I did think of showing my actual patronus, but decided that displaying that would create more havoc. Seems I was right, I wonder what bonkers theory is going around his head now..." Colby laughed. "Knowing that idiot he's probably under the impression I'm Sirius' son or something." Maisie frowned.

"What exactly did you do?" she asked. Colby raised an eyebrow.

"It's really none of your business, so don't worry your little head about it." He headed towards the hallway the dorms were off, only turning back at the edge of the common room. "Now unless you have anything else to say, I'm going to bed." Maisie spluttered.

"Yes! What. Did. You. Do? It sounds important, and if you've done something that's going to impact _me_..."

"Well it won't. Deal with it. Not everything revolves around you, not everything bothers you, and sorry to burst your bubble _sis_, but few things require your _approval_. If you must know, I was dealing with something father asked me to deal with. If you need to know he'll tell you, I'm sure," Colby stated, and strode out of the room.


End file.
